# Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement **Also:** STEVE **Domain:** Heliophysics / Ionospheric Phenomena / Citizen Science **Doc Type:** Scientific Concept Node **Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE)** is a narrow purple-white atmospheric light associated with a fast, hot flow of charged particles in the upper atmosphere. It is visually and physically distinct from an ordinary aurora, though it occurs in related near-Earth space-weather conditions. ## Naming History The [[Alberta Aurora Chasers]] first used the ordinary name “Steve,” borrowed from _[[Over the Hedge]]_. Scientists subsequently preserved it as the backronym Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement. ## Routes [[articles/STEVE|STEVE]] · [[NASA]] · [[Alberta Aurora Chasers]] ## Sources - [NASA — Aurora Named STEVE](https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/aurora-named-steve/) - [NASA — citizen scientists and the purple lights](https://www.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/mystery-of-purple-lights-in-sky-solved-with-help-from-citizen-scientists/)